Look...Up in the Sky.....it's the Man of Steele

I was just perusing the latest issue of Essence (yes...a brother does read a womens mag on occasion..what better way to get into a woman's mind) and happened to come across a brief interview with the current Lt. Governor of Maryland, Michael Steele. The reason why I'm even mentioning this is because it got me to think how imperative it is for Black folk to start to seriously consider defecting (partially) to the Republican party (Bush notwithstanding....I said Republican not neo-con...there's a difference). I saw Steele one late night while he was a panel guest on Bill Maher's Real Time and I have to admit that the guy appeared to be polished, erudite and engaging. And if you haven't guessed, he might be an anathema in certain Black political circles. Steele is a Black republican. The article recounted Steele's experience at getting oreos tossed at him at some political function as well as discussing his desire to be the second Black Senator since Reconstruction. Unfortunately, Steele's run in with the oreo incident is a tell tale sign that he might have lost his "Black authenticity card" (more on this "card" at a later date). Now for the record, I am a registered democrat, however on occasion I have switched party lines based on my individual perception of a political candidate or issue. In the future I plan to do more research on Steele and other brothers that may be cut from a different political cloth. I think that if African-Americans are to progress it makes sense to protect your interests on both sides instead of being "ass out" when your political party doesn't win. I do not think many people of color think this way strategically. Case in point...perhaps a year and half ago I was ordering take out at Unos. If anyone is familiar with the restaurant's set up, while the prospective customer is waiting to be seated, he/she has the choice of sitting on benches labeled "Democrat" and "Republican." A middle-aged Black woman with her husband walks in and she jokingly stated that she would never sit in the Republican seat. She of course looked at me jokingly for approval and solidarity. I replied that it would be foolhardy for all of us to vote one way because it is not wise to put all of our eggs in one basket. She gave me a quizzical look of realization...a light bulb moment. Let's hope that the remaining 99.9% of the Black and minority voting public get that same "light bulb moment."